Sec. 2. 1 MRSA §354 is enacted to read:

§354.__Public comment on proposed amendments and statewide

referenda; rules; fees

The Secretary of State shall adopt rules regarding the publication of public comment by proponents and opponents of constitutional resolutions or statewide referenda.__These rules must include, but are not limited to, a word limit, the labeling of public comment as supporting or opposing a measure and the identification of the person or persons responsible for the comment.__Rules adopted pursuant to this section are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.__Beginning with the November 2006 election and every election thereafter, the Secretary of State shall publish the public comment, along with the explanatory statement and fiscal estimate required under section 353, on a publicly accessible site on the Internet and in pamphlets distributed to the municipalities of the State.__A person filing a public comment for publication shall pay a fee of $500 to the Secretary of State.__Fees collected pursuant to this section must be deposited in the Public Comment Publication Fund established under Title 5, section 90-D.

Sec. 3. 5 MRSA §90-D is enacted to read:

§90-D.__Public Comment Publication Fund

The Public Comment Publication Fund, referred to in this section as "the fund," is established as a nonlapsing fund within the Department of the Secretary of State.__The fund consists of fees for public comment on constitutional resolutions and statewide referenda received by the Secretary of State pursuant to Title 1, section 354.__The money in the fund must be used for the purpose of publishing the informational pamphlet that includes the public comment, explanatory statement and fiscal estimate pursuant to Title 1, section 354.__The unobligated and unencumbered balance of the fund in excess of $5,000 as of December 1st of each year must be transferred to the General Fund.